Mischievous Child
by MariaBlue4863
Summary: It's been three years since Capricorn's death and everybody's living together. However, Basta returns and kidnaps Meggie. He plans to use her to reread Capricorn out of Inkheart! When things take a sudden turn, Basta and Meggie are strandoned together.
1. The Abduction

Meggie had enjoyed her time away from Capricorn's village and his men. She enjoyed her mother's return even more. Resa and Mo, shall we say, adopted Farid as if his world was easy to forget. Dustfinger, on the other hand, was just a visitor, but Meggie thought of him as a second father, despite the fact that Mo would be hurt if he heard that. Elinor and Darius had moved in with each other, which made Darius feel welcomed and Elinor less lonely. However, there was a few concerns for Meggie. Both were related to the issue with Capricorn and their names were Mortola and Basta, Capricorn's mother and a devoted henchman who loves his knife. Meggie wouldn't know to begin what nightmares she had with Basta threatening to kill her and her family and their new friends and Mortola, better known as the Magpie to her and Fenoglio, was finding new ways to torture and cause all sorts of pain for her.

Meggie shook her head; no, she wouldn't think about it now. She had to be grateful that the nightmare was over. She should celebrate and relax instead of worrying so much. One day, Resa wrote to her daughter saying, _Is there something bothering you, Meggie?_ Meggie smiled and shook her head.

"I'm fine, Mom," she said. "Really. I'm just lost in thought, I guess." Resa smiled and patted her daughter's hand. Meggie stood up and said, "I'm going for a walk, Mom."

"Meggie," Mo began, "be careful. You never know when Basta or Mortola or whoever else worked for Capricorn might attack you." Dustfinger and Farid's eyes widened and they both stood up simultaneously.

"I'll go with you," they both said. They both stared at each other in surprise.

"I know more about Capricorn's men than you do," Dustfinger said.

"I care about Meggie just as much as you do," Farid argued.

"Guys!" Meggie said. The three men and two women looked at her. "I'm old and smart enough what to do if any of Capricorn's men or Mortola show up."  
"Okay," said Elinor. "But I don't want to remember anything of those despicable and foul people for the rest of my life. So if you see any of them, _don't_ tell me first!"

"I won't," Meggie said. She headed outside and took in the scenery. How she enjoyed this peace and happiness! She ran out and laughed merrily, running in circles. She panted after seven minutes of running and fell down. She sat up and stared at the clear, blue sky and watched a few clouds drift away. She stood up and walked over to a nearby lake. She saw a school of fish swim by. However, she thought saw Basta in the lake. She gasped and turned around. Meggie saw nobody when she was back around and stared to wipe away her tears . She breathed easily and said, "Okay. Calm down, Meggie. It's just your imagination." She stood up and walked back to the house when she felt something cold and sharp touch her throat and a hand clasp her mouth, silencing her cry of terror.

"Hush," whispered a familiar voice. " Hush, hush, hush. There's no need for screaming here." She then saw Basta's recognizable face. She bit her lips and squeezed her eyes shut. No, she wouldn't cry in front of Basta. Unfortunately, she felt Basta's fingers brush against her cheeks, wiping away some tears that escaped. She was pinned to the ground, Basta's hands almost made her body merge with the ground. "I _missed_ you," he said, heavily emphasizing "missed" with sarcasm.

"Wh-wh-what do you want?" Meggie asked, not controlling her tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Aw," cooed Basta, wiping the tears away, "why so sad? I mean you no harm. That is, so long as you cooperate with me." Meggie only wept more; she didn't like where this was going. "I believe you owe big time, little witch."

"For what?" she asked, spitting at him. Basta pressed her against the earth more firmly.

"For all the _misery_ you put me through," he growled. "Because of everything you did to me, I figure you should do something to make up for that." Meggie narrowed her eyes.

"What if I don't?" she asked. Basta smirked.

"Then I slice your throat open," he said. Meggie wanted to kick herself for asking that. Of course Basta got himself a new knife. She inhaled for another stupid question.

"What is it you want me to do?" she asked.

"Reread Capricorn out of the book," Basta said with another smirk. Meggie almost cried again, but then she remembered something.

"You don't have a copy of _Inkheart_," Meggie said triumphantly. "Capricorn burned every copy there was in the world and you know it." She laughed.

"Oh, did he?" Basta asked, pulling out the familiar book. Meggie's laughter quickly turned back into weeping. Basta relished this greatly and wiped away the tears once more. "You'll not read him out here," Basta continued.

"Then where _am_ I going to read him out?" Meggie asked. Before she knew what was happening, Basta pulled her to her feet, bound and gagged her.

"Some place far away here," Basta said. "However, if you fail to read him out, you'll just be the bait to lure your father so _he_ can reread him. If he did it before, he surely can do it again." Basta flung Meggie over his shoulder and walked over to a small car, one of the kinds that you have to unlock from the outside with the key. Basta unlocked one of the back doors and tossed Meggie in. He quickly slammed the door closed and locked it. Meggie, in the meantime, managed to get free of the bindings. Basta walked around to the other side, unlocked the driver's door, climbed in, buckled up, closed the door, and started up the car. He turned around to smirk at Meggie. "Aw, what's the matter?" he asked in a mocking voice. "Does someone want me to come back and comfort her?"

"Not as long as I'm alive," Meggie said, buckling up herself. Basta frowned.

"You should be lucky I have you and that I'm not going in your house," he hissed. "Otherwise, you'd never see your family, the boy, or even that worthless fire-eater."

"Don't call Dustfinger that!" yelled Meggie. Basta's only response was a slap.

"Don't talk to me like that ever again!" snarled Basta. Meggie clutched her swollen cheek and shrank away. Basta then turned back around and drove away. For one moment, Meggie thought she saw Dustfinger running after the car, vainly shouting her name, what it seemed. Basta looked her way and smirked. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he asked. "Dirtyfingers seems to be sad." He looked back at Meggie. "Seems like he's going to miss you, don't you think?" Meggie glared at him.  
"Why don't you just let me go now?!" Meggie yelled.  
"What if I don't want to let you go?" Basta asked. "What if I want to keep you with me?" Meggie rolled down the window before she got the chance to cry again.

"Dustfinger!" she yelled. "Dustfinger, help!"

"Meggie!" cried Dustfinger. He ran towards the car and tried clutching her hand. He saw the smirking Basta through the window. "That bastard," he whispered.

"Long time, no see," Basta said. "Now if you don't mind, I have some important business to take care and it involves this witch. " With that, Basta made a sharp turn and Dustfinger was tossed aside like a bag of dirty laundry no one wants to do. Dustfinger swore and let out a frustrated cry.


	2. To Rescue or Not To Rescue?

Dustfinger cursed under his breath on his way back to the house. He didn't bother chasing after Basta or Meggie because he knew Basta would kill either him or Meggie if he did. He tried hiding his tears of frustration and anger, but he failed in restraining them. Resa was the first person to reach him, handing him a note that read, _What's wrong, Dustfinger? Where's Meggie?_ Dustfinger growled and tossed the note aside.

"Meggie's gone!" he snapped. "Basta kidnapped her!" Resa, Farid, Mo, and Elinor all gasped.

"Basta kidnapped her?!" Mo yelled. "Why?!"

"He's not going to kill her, will he?" Farid asked.

"Doubt it," Dustfinger said. "He that he had some important business to take care and it involved her for some reason. But what does he want with her?"

"Mortimer," began Elinor, "that Capricorn fellow can't be reread out of his book, can he?" Everybody paused for a minute in pure horror; they thought exactly the same thing and knew this would be the worst thing to happen if they allowed it to happen.

"He wants her to reread Capricorn!" Mo cried.

"What should we do?!" Farid asked.

"We're going to rescue her, that's what we'll do," Elinor said, pushing past Dustfinger.

"No!" Dustfinger said, stopping Elinor.

"Why not?" snapped Elinor.

"Do you think Basta will hand Meggie over so easily?" he asked. "No. Basta might kill her or any of us if we try to rescue her."

"Dustfinger!" cried Farid.

"It's too risky, Farid!" Dustfinger argued. "I don't think you should try to save her and end up dying for her!"

"It's better than her dying at his hands!" Farid growled.

"Timeout!" Mo yelled. Everybody stared at him in shock for his sudden outburst. "I know that it's dangerous for all of us," he began, "but we have to do something!"

"What do you propose we do, Silvertongue?" Dustfinger asked, his arms crossed.

"You, Farid, and I will look for Meggie and Elinor and Resa will stay here," Mo said. Resa's eyes widened and tugged on her husband's hand, staring at him with pleading eyes. "Don't look at me like that, Resa," Mo said. "I lost you once and I'm not going to lose you again." Resa just cried softly and kissed Mo. Dustfinger tried not to cry himself at the sight of Mo and Resa's moment. This reminded him too much of Roxane and he knew it.

"If that's what you think needs to be done," Dustfinger said. He motioned to Farid and said, "Let's go."


	3. Stranded

Meggie didn't bother to start an argument with Basta since they left since she was afraid he's slap her if she said anything offensive to him. But that didn't stop from her next question: "So how did you get your driver's license?" She clapped a hand over her mouth when it was too late to take that question back.

"Now we're being Miss Curiosity?" Basta asked. Meggie shook her head. "Well, if you must know," he began, "I had to take driver's education class, and you must be shocked that they allow adults to be in that class, am I right?" Meggie shook her head and Basta chuckled. "Well, they did for me. One of the female teachers thought I was cute or something like that. Anyway, after Capricorn's death-" A sharp turn that caused Meggie to hold onto the seat. "-I managed to get into driver's education class. After a few tries, I finally got my driver's license, and here we are now: a nosy witch in the back and me at the wheel." He turned his head towards Meggie and said, "Does that answer your question?"

"Keep your eyes on the road!" she yelled.

"Relax," Basta said. "You've got nothing to worry ab-" He was interrupted when he was launched through the window shield and was followed by Meggie. They both grunted and they landed next together, groaning in pain. "My car!" Basta yelled. He leapt to his feet and rushed up to the burning remains of his burning car. He jerked his head in Meggie's direction and said, "This is all _your_ fault! If you hadn't distracted me, I would've-" He stopped himself and sighed. "Let's ignore that," he whispered. "There's no use in arguing with you. It looks like we'll have to walk." He closed his eyes, turned around, and said, "Let's get moving." He opened his eyes and Meggie was gone. "Where's you go?!" he yelled.

"Leave me alone!" Meggie's voice rang out in the still night.

"Where are you?" Basta demanded, looking around. Then, he looked up, and there was Meggie in a tree, glaring at him. "Get down from there!" he commanded.

"Make me!" Meggie bellowed.

"With pleasure," Basta murmured with a smirk. He started climbing up the tree as did Meggie. Since she was higher up and younger, Meggie had moved up quicker than Basta did. He had climbed up ten branches when one of them gave in and Basta fell down hard on the ground. Meggie laughed loudly.

"Serves you right!" she called down to him. Basta growled and jumped to his feet.

"I'm not going to say it again!" he shouted up to her. "Get down from there now!" Meggie's legs curled firmly around a tree limb.

"No!" she yelled.

"Don't make me chop down that tree!" Basta snarled.

"Go ahead!" Meggie screamed. "Get an axe and chop down this tree for all I care!"

"Okay, I will!" Basta screeched. He turned to leave, but a voice in his head stopped him.

"Wait a minute!" it said. "Don't you see what she's trying to do? She's planning on escaping while you're getting that stupid axe! If she succeeds, you'll be stranded out here alone!" Basta turned his head back to Meggie who was glaring at him and then turned his whole body around, walking back to the tree and sat on a nearby rock.

"Nice try, sweetheart!" he called out. "You're not getting away from me that easy! I'm not leaving you alone, not even for a minute!"

"Oh yeah?!" Meggie shouted. "Well, that make two of us!" Basta glared at as much of Meggie that he could and she did the same thing. Ten minutes passed and they still glared at each other. Twenty minutes passed and they still glared at each other. Thirty minutes passed and Meggie yawned.

"Getting tired, are we?" Basta called out.

"I'm just bored!" Meggie shouted.. Basta smirked; it wouldn't be long when she'd fall asleep. Forty minutes passed and they still kept their glares going. Fifty minutes passed and Basta yawned. "Not giving in to sleep, are you, Basta?" Meggie shouted, snickering.

"Shut up, you!" Basta snapped. More minutes and soon, hours. Neither Basta nor Meggie bothered keeping track of time now. It must have been four hours that passed when Basta woke up suddenly. He looked up and saw Meggie asleep against the tree. However, her grip on the tree had lessened and she fell. Basta jumped his feet and ran towards the tree, holding out his arms to catch her. When she landed in his arms, he nearly fell over. "Stupid girl," he whispered. He was thinking that maybe they should leave, but he knew wandering in the dark wasn't such a good idea. That was, if he wanted to keep him and Meggie alive. So instead, he walked back to the rock he had been sitting on for who knows how long. He took off his jacket, wrapped it around Meggie, and placed her head on his lap. He had a strange desire to brush her hair away from her face, but he controlled himself. He knew that he shouldn't at least show he might have cared about here. If he did, he thought she'd take advantage of the situation.


	4. Worrying and Falling in Love?

Mo, Dustfinger, and Farid took off at 5 o'clock exactly in Mo's van. They had to get weapons for defending themselves and Meggie. The first thing Dustfinger wanted to do when they found Meggie and Basta was to take his knife and cut off his fingers. That way, he'd never be able to touch or even harm Meggie ever again. He was so mad with Basta at this point; he should have been with Meggie despite her rejection. "Do you think she's alright?" Farid asked.

"Huh?" Dustfinger said, looking at the boy.

"Meggie," he said. "Do you think she's alright?"  
"Oh, yeah," Dustfinger said. "I'm sure she'll take care of herself with ease. She's capable of more than you think."

"You got that right," Mo said. "Meggie's matured so much. It's so scary just to see as a beautiful young woman."

"Yeah, she's beautiful all right," Dustfinger said. Mo stomped on the brakes and whirled around to face the fire-eater as did his young apprentice. "What?"

"You're falling in love with my daughter, are you?" Mo asked.

"No!" Dustfinger cried.

"You said with some strange feeling in your voice," Farid said.

"No, I didn't," Dustfinger said.

"You're still married, Dustfinger," Mo said.

"I know that!" the ticked fire-eater shouted. "I was only agreeing to what you said!" Mo and Farid grew silent. "Was that so wrong?"

"No," Mo said, letting his foot off the brake and accelerated gently.

"You'd tell us if you liked her, right?" Farid asked.

"I would if I did, but I don't," Dustfinger said. Farid shrugged his shoulders and looked up ahead. However, what Dustfinger said was a lie. He was absolutely smitten about Meggie. He admired her creativity, intelligence, bravery, and passion for other people. He cursed himself for the many times he stared at her face, body,, eyes, and even her lips, but he couldn't help himself. Heck, he thought that she was downright gorgeous. However, he knew that Mo and Farid would be furious if he said any of this.

**Sorry it's so short and it took so long! TT_TT**


	5. A Chase Through the Corn Fields

Basta was awakened by a chirping bird, his back aching with pain from sitting up so much. The bright morning sun shined down onto him. He smirked darkly with tired eyes and stood up, stretching his legs. He realized his lap was bare, empty of Meggie. "Damn it all!" he shouted. "She ran away!" He looked up and saw a corn field in front of him with a few stalks knocked down. "Of course," he whispered. He stood up and walked into the fields. "Come on out, sweetheart!" he called out. "It's useless to run and hide. That is, unless, you want to play hide-and-seek." He heard the cracking of a stalk to his right and followed it. "Don't be so difficult," he said. "I mean you no harm. This I swear."

"Liar!" Meggie shouted. Basta caught this fault and ran towards it.

"We don't have to do this," he said. "All I want from you is cooperation. Is that too much to ask?" There was dead silence for a moment. Then, all of a sudden, there was a bunch of crackling of the corn stalks. Basta followed his ears until he caught sight of Meggie. He let out a yell and chased after her. Despite her speed granted by her youth, Basta was still faster than her. When he got dangerously close to her, he leapt at her, which caused them to tumble until Meggie was staring into Basta's eyes with him on top of her. "Thought you could get away, did you?" he hissed.

"Leave me alone!" Meggie yelled. He gripped her arms and squeezed them so hard that tears came out of Meggie's eyes.

"_I_ give the orders!" he whispered in her ear, hot minty breath filling it. "_You _will do what I say! _**You belong to me now!**_" Meggie began crying now, pain surging in her arms and fear controlling her mind. Basta finally released her arms and wiped away her tears. He then noticed Meggie was still clutching his jacket around her body. He smirked and said, "You still have my jacket." He leaned in closer until his face and Meggie's almost collided into kissing range. "What could that possibly mean?"

"N-Nothing," Meggie said, becoming very uncomfortable of the closeness.

"Are you starting to be fond of me, princess?" Basta asked. Meggie's eyes widened in surprise; for his sake, this had better to be a sick joke to him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Meggie shouted, squirming away from Basta, successfully out from beneath him. "Why would _I_ start to like you?"

"Oh, don't deny it, princess," Basta purred, leaning in her general direction. "It's obvious you're attracted to me." Disgusted, Meggie shoved him away from her and stood up.

"Well, what are you waiting for, an invitation to get up?" she asked, glaring at her captor. "Let's get going." Basta was surprised at this; was she really being willing to go with him this time without planning to escape? He didn't think it'd be wise to ask her this if she really was going to attempt escaping again. If he did, he'd only be encouraging her to do so. He stood up and stuck out his hand to Meggie. She stared at it in confusion. "I am _not_ holding your hand if that's what you want," she stated. A bit of pink was shown on Basta's face.

"Give me my jacket," Basta said. He couldn't even imagined the two of them holding hands.

"With pleasure," Meggie said, taking off the black jacket and throwing in Basta's face.

"I said give me it, not throw it in my face!" he yelled, putting it on.

"Oh, sorry," Meggie said with a grin. "I didn't hear you. Maybe it was because you were mumbling." Basta lunged forward, bringing his new knife to Meggie's bare throat.

"You may think I'll be merciful to you since I need you alive," he hissed, "but I won't. If you say or do anything like you've done in the past few hours, I will punish you in the most violent manner possible. Are we clear?" Meggie began nodding quickly. Basta smirked and put away his knife. "Perhaps if you're lucky, I'll convince Capricorn to let you live," he said.

"What would you say to him?" Meggie asked.

"Oh, I'd say something like I need a new maid, one that will live with me in my house," Basta said. Meggie took a step back, knowing what kind of "maid" he was looking for.

"You'd convince him to allow you marry me?" she screeched.

"Wow, princess, you catch on fast," Basta purred with a pleased grin, taking Meggie's face in his hands and gently kissed her.


	6. Basta's Feelings Revealed

Meggie's eyes widened in surprise; Basta actually wanted to marry _her_? The daughter of the man who killed his father figure? Why? Determined to find out, she grabbed Basta's face and pushed him away, only to receive a growl of displeasure from him. "Why do you want to marry me of all people?" she demanded. A sly smirk crossed Basta's face as he took Meggie's wrists in one hand and her face in the other.

"Sweet, innocent Meggie," he began, ignoring her disgusted groan, "haven't you been paying attention to my behavior towards you when Capricorn was still alive?"

"Yes, I have," Meggie said, trying to pull away, but failing. "But I thought you were just acting like a creepy pedophile." Basta narrowed his dark eyes.

"No, I was only acting like that to get your attention," he said. "But also, I did because I really did have an interest in you." He began to smile, making Meggie start to shake uneasily. Paying no heed to her action, Basta leaned down and continued, "Your fiery attitude, your sky blue eyes, and the way you sounded when you read things like the Shadow out were all the main details I focused on. I could never find them in another woman if I had to look."

"Well, maybe you could!" Meggie blurted out, trying to resist Basta's tempting behavior. "I could read you back into _Inkheart _and you could-" Basta laughed cruelly, cutting off Meggie. "What?"

"Do you honestly think that will make everything better, Meggie?" he asked through his laughter. He quickly stopped, frowned, and stared at her intently. "I'm afraid you'll have to do a lot better than that if you want to stop me from wanting to marry you."

"But why?" pleaded Meggie. "Why wouldn't going back to where you came from not make you change your mind? I thought you had a love interest in _Inkheart_!"

"I did, multiple interests," Basta said, looking a little angry. "But that old fool kept complicating my love life by pointing out the flaws in them. One good example would be to mention that I was in love with Roxane, Dustfinger's wife." Meggie's eyes widened; he had an interest in Dustfinger's wife? "I know that sounds shocking, but it was true." Suddenly, a strangely beautiful smile was plastered on Basta's face. "I loved Roxane with all my heart and soul. She was the most beautiful and kindest woman I had ever known. Before she met Dustfinger, she loved me the same as I did." His smile faded away and a dark look appeared on his face, making him look more sinister than before. "However, when she did meet him, everything changed."

"How?" Meggie asked, half-interested in the tale and half cautiously in trying to come up with another escape plan, which she hoped would get her back to her home and not worry about Basta coming after her again.

"Roxane spent more time with Dirtyfingers and less with me," Basta said. "There were times where I wanted to hang out with her, but she declined, telling me she had already made plans with _him _and when she canceled what were meant to be our dates just so she could be with him. Heck, a couple times, I noticed her staring at him while I talked to her. So one day, I finally got fed up with this mess of a relationship and demanded to know who she wanted more: me or Dirtyfingers and you can guess who she chose." Meggie didn't dare to answer, fearing his reaction if she did.

"Anyway, as punishment for ruining the only successful relationship I ever had, Dustfinger was given some _souvenirs_ as a reminder of what he did. I was so sure that his hideousness would be enough to make her come back to me, but she didn't care about how Dustfinger looked; she only cared about the fact that she loved him." Basta gagged, then smiled, and leaned closer to Meggie. "But I suppose I'll have to live with that. After all, who needs Roxane when they have someone like you?" With that, he pressed his lips against Meggie's once more, receiving nothing in return. Feeling sick to her stomach, Meggie fought back the tears that threatened to escape her eyes. She had to think of something fast; she had to get away from Basta! With a great amount of effort, Meggie pulled her head away again and kicked Basta in the most sensative area she knew of. Letting go of the girl, Basta fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Don't ever do that again!" Meggie yelled. Basta glared at her.

"Or what?" he asked."What will you do to me?"

"Or else I'll read out the most terrible plague and unleash it out on you!" snarled Meggie. Basta smirked.

"That would be a foolish thing for you to do, Meggie," he said.

"What do you mean?" the blonde questioned distrustfully.

"If you do anything bad to me, I shall track down your family have them killed," crooned the dark man. Meggie flinched and stared at him in pure horror. "Perhaps I could also go after the boy," the villain continued."Or maybe even Dustfinger."

"NO!" Meggie cried, grabbing Basta's collar. "Don't you dare touch him!"

"Then don't be so disobedient," Basta suggested. "If you make me happy, I'll make you happy. Does that sound good to you?" Meggie nodded sadly. "Good. Now help me up." Meggie obeyed and pulled her captor to his feet. "Thank you. Let's get going." He started to walk as did Meggie, but Basta suddenly stopped.

"What are we stopping for?" Meggie asked. Basta turned his head in Meggie's direction.

"Kiss me," he said.

"Wh-What?" stuttered the girl.

"You heard me," Basta replied. "Kiss me. Now. And be sure your mouth is open, too." Meggie shuddered, but reluctantly complied. Basta held Meggie firmly, deepening the kiss as her body shook. He pulled away after a few minutes, only to realize the girl was crying. He wiped her tears away and said, "Stupid girl. Why are you crying? I'm not hurting you or anything."

"It's much worse," she whispered. "I'm allowing my enemy control me and I hate that." Basta grabbed her chin and yanked it up.

"Be lucky it's you and not your family," he hissed. "Otherwise, they would be more miserable than you are right now." Meggie continued crying and Basta paid little attention to her as he dragged her away. For some reason, he couldn't, but feel guilty for how he treated her and he wanted to make up to her, but how?


	7. No Luck?

**Hey, everybody. I apologize for not uploading my story in a while; I've been busy.** **So please** **enjoy this new chapter. ^_^**

Before the dawn's first ray graced the new day, Mo and the other two men had already set out to continue their search for Meggie and Basta. Since they were more concerned about Meggie's safety than they were with a proper place to sleep, they all slept in the car. Although it wasn't the most comfortable place for two fully grown men and a teenager, they had to deal with the issues that came with the decision. After all, they were trying to save Meggie and that was all that mattered to them.

They decided to drive down the interstate to either catch up with Meggie and Basta or, if they were resting, cut them off. They frequently checked out of the window to see if there were dry dark green patches on the shoulder of the road. If they were lucky, Basta might have spat some out while he was driving and the trail could lead them straight to him. "Silvertongue, look!" Dustfinger spotted the remains of Basta's burnt car on the side of the road ahead. "Pull over!" Mo nodded and made a safe move over to the shoulder and parked. Dustfinger was the first one out of the car before Mo had a chance to put it in park. When Mo and Farid got out, Dustfinger was already inspecting Basta's car.

"Are they inside?" asked Farid.

"No," the fire-eater said disappointed. "They must have gotten out sometime after they hit the billboard. Otherwise, they would have been burned. Although, how this happened is strange to me. I've never known Basta to be so careless."

"Maybe he and Meggie fought over the wheel and crashed," Mo said.

"Or Basta got distracted by something else on the road," suggested Farid.

"Let's determine the cause of the crash later," Dustfinger said. "Right now, we have to focus on finding them." Both men nodded in agreement and spread throughout the area. They searched in front of the forest's entrance, which had few patches of crushed grass and unidentifiable footprints; around the tree, which baffled them with the broken branch; and in the cornfield, which had some snapped stalks decorating the ground.

"Alright, I don't think we have anything," Farid said.

"Why do you say that?" asked Mo. "We do have _some_ things."

"Like what?" Farid demanded. "The stalks? The entrance to the forest? The branch? Excuse me for saying this, Silvertongue, but you don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"Farid!" Dustfinger chided. "Why would you say that?"

"Anyone could have been here!" Farid shouted. "Anyone could have climbed up the tree and broke that branch! Anyone could have broken those corn stalks! Anyone could have been walking in front of the forest! Face it, Dustfinger. We don't know if they were here. At least, not without some evidence."

"Like what?" Mo asked. "We could still prove they were here and went off into the forest."

"I don't know," Farid said. "I'm just upset right now."

"Wait, guys, come over here," Dustfinger called out by the field. The Arab and Silvertongue turned to see Dustfinger holding up a strand of blonde hair. "Unless there have multiple blondes here, there's only one explanation for this."


End file.
